Vienna Lager Homebrew Review

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Nick Ladd

It’s been about six weeks since I’ve brewed my Vienna Lager — prime time to review this brew. This is the third or fourth time I’ve brewed a Vienna Lager, and I’m always excited when the time comes to tap a fresh keg. The recipe is primarily a blend of Munich, Pilsner, and Vienna malts. The goal is to create a clean and crisp malt-forward lager, while imbuing enough character to remain interesting. Getting the beer to finish relatively dry and low in alcohol helps to make this a great session beer. This beer is similar to what a beer like Negra Modelo or Dos Equis Amber could be if they were all-malt beers.

Fermentation went nearly perfectly with the beer starting at 1.052 and ending at 1.014 — approximately 73% apparent attenuation. The beer has been lagering at 32°F for the past 4 weeks and is ready for a taste.

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP Category 3A Vienna Lager

Aroma: (10/12)
The aroma is somewhat subdued, and very clean. There is a really nice round bready malt component that is very inviting and reminiscent of freshly baked bread. Intertwined are aromas of toasted biscuit and crusty sourdough. The is a light hint of sweetness that reminds me of golden colored caramel and provides a slight impression of sweetness.

Appearance: (2/3)
Rich amber with ruby red hues. The beer is clear, with just a hint of haze that should clear with a little more lagering time. The head is bright white, sticky, and persistent.

Flavor: (18/20)
The flavor is all about the interplay between toasty, dry, melonoiden-rich malt that finishes with a light touch of residual malt sweetness. There is no hop flavor that I can detect, but the bitterness is firm and clean, helping to keep the beer very balanced. To better fit the style, the beer could be a hair less bitter, otherwise it is nearly spot-on to style.

Mouth Feel: (4/5)
Medium-low bodied with a crisp and clean finish. There is a miniscule touch of astringency on the finish that provides further drying and slightly pushes it out of style.

Overall Impression: (8/10)
This is a beautiful beer to look at and consume. The balance is to the malt side, but it does so with a deft hand keeping it crisp, refreshing, and delicious. I will certainly be making this delicious recipe again.

Score: 43 / 50 (Excellent)

Bourbon County Brand Barleywine Review

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Nick Ladd

‘Tis the season for Goose Island’s annual release of their Bourbon County line of beers. With this year’s release, the product line has grown to include a barrel-aged English-style barleywine in addition to their very tasty imperial stout offerings. Beer geeks around the country are giddy at the thought that this beer could be of the same lineage as King Henry — many a beer geek’s White Whale. It’s been over a year since I’ve sampled King Henry, but if my memory serves me correctly, this is a relatively similar beer.

Beer Data:

Purchased: 12/5/13 – $24.99 per 12 oz. 4-pack
Availability: Annually
Alcohol: 12.1% ABV

Commercial Description from Website:

Aged in the third-use barrels that were once home to Kentucky bourbon and then our renowned Bourbon County Stout, this traditional English-style barleywine possesses the subtlety of flavor that only comes from a barrel that’s gone through many seasons of ritual care. The intricacies of the previous barrel denizens – oak, charcoal, hints of tobacco and vanilla, and that signature bourbon heat – are all present in this beer. Hearty and complex, Bourbon County Brand Barleywine is a titan and a timeline; a bold, flavorful journey through the craft of barrel aging.

Tasting Notes:

Reviewed as a BJCP Category 22C. Wood-Aged Beer (English Barleywine base).

Aroma: (10/12)
Lots of big, sticky malt dominates the aroma. Most apparent on the malt side is a rich and luscious deep caramel as well as some molasses. There is a ton of pleasant oxidized malt character reminiscent of dark fruit and tart cherry — likely a consequence of the micro-oxidation that occurred while in the barrel. There is a surprisingly light oak character that has hints of vanilla and toasted coconut, which blend well with the base beer. Some hot alcohol is apparent, but it is minimal considering the high ABV. No hop aroma.

Appearance: (2/3)
Very deep mahogany — almost black. The beer is clear with a minimal tan head. This is an attractive beer, but a few shades too dark for the style.

Flavor: (16/20)
There is a richness to the malt that fills the palate with flavors of dark caramel upfront and toasty biscuit and bread crust on the back end. Again, there is lots of oxidized malt that comes off as raisin-like in the flavor. There is some definite boozy hot alcohol, which actually helps balance the heavy-handed malt sweetness. The hop bitterness is barely enough to balance the large amount of sweet malt. The bourbon flavor is definitely present, but not nearly as intense as other beers in the Bourbon County line.

Mouth Feel: (2/3)
“Chewy” is a fitting description of the mouthfeel. The beer is slightly slick and leaves the mouth a bit tacky and sticky. The carbonation is very soft, which serves to enhance the full-bodied nature of this beer. The beer is a bit syrupy on the finish, which detracts from the overall impression of the beer.

Overall Impression: (8/10)
This is a big and intensely complex malt-bomb. If that’s what you’re in the mood for, this beer will greatly exceed your expectations. A touch more attenuation seems like it would help the beer out in terms of drinkability (if there is such a thing for a 12.1% beer). There are some prominent oxidized notes in this beer that are pleasant, but not something I’d want to enhance by aging the beer any further. This would work well as a dessert beer or replacement for something like a Sauternes paired with a Roquefort cheese.

Score: 38 / 50 (Excellent)

Vienna Lager 3.0 – Recipe and Brewday

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Nick Ladd

Nice cool lager fermentation chugging away.

Nice cool lager yeast fermenting away.

Update: Vienna Lager Reviewed

Update 2/20/2014 – Beer placed 3rd as a Vienna Lager in Category 3 European Amber Lagers at the 2014 Homebrew Alley 8 competition.

UPDATE 4/5/2014 – Beer placed 1st as a Vienna Lager in Category 3 European Amber Lagers at the 2014 First Round of the National Homebrew Competition (NYC Regional).

When it comes to brewing a particular style of beer, I am a serial philander. Rarely do I brew the same beer twice, and when I do it is typically with radical departures to the recipe. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and Vienna lager is one of them.

I’ve probably brewed four or five Vienna lagers since I began brewing in 2009. While most have been outstanding, and several have won pretty nice awards (Gold in the 2012 NHC first round, and 2nd Best of Show at the 2011 Best of the Bay), I seem to always be making tweaks to the recipe to correct minor details that I believe would lead to a better beer.

With this iteration, I’ve gone back to my favorite lager strain, White Labs WLP833 German Bock, which always seems to produce very malt-forward, diacetyl free lagers for me. Additionally, I’ve introduced a single step decoction into the recipe as a replacement for the touch of melanoiden malt that I generally throw into my non-decocted lagers. A small Hallertaurer addition with 10 minutes left in the boil gives the beer an almost imperceptible late hop character.

With winter coming, and the ground water cooling, it is the perfect time to brew lagers. My Blichmann Therminator plate chiller struggles with warm summer water, but drops the wort to pitching temperatures with ease during the cooler months. With a little extra time in my fermenation fridge, I am able to chill my wort to 44°F before pitching my yeast. Over the course of the lag phase, I let the temperature free rise to 48°F and then keep it there until the very end of fermentation when I complete a diacetyl rest. This requires a very large starter, but tends to create what I feel is a cleaner lager character.

Recipe

Size: 3.25 Gal
Efficiency: 68%
Attenuation: 74% (projected)

Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Terminal Gravity: 1.014 SG (projected)
Color: 14.09 SRM
Alcohol: 5.07% ABV (projected)
Bitterness: 28.4 IBU

Grist:
3.5 lb (47.9%) Vienna Malt (Weyermann)
1.25 lb (17.1%) Pilsner Malt (Weyermann)
2.25 lb (30.8%) Munich TYPE II (Weyermann)
4 oz (3.4%) Carafoam® (Weyermann)
1 oz (0.9%) Carafa® TYPE II (Weyermann)

Boil Additions:
1 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker (4.1% AA) – 60 m
1/2 Tablet Whirlfloc (Irish moss) – 15 m
0.5 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker (4.1% AA) – 10 m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10 m

Yeast:
1800ml 1.040 starter on stir plate – White Labs WLP833 German Bock Lager

Mash Regiment:
20m – 144 °F
Decoct to 156 °F
20m – 156 °F
Direct Fire to Mashout at 168 °F
10m – 168 °F

Water Adjustment:
Carbon filtered NYC water with 1g gypsum and 4g calcium chloride added to the mash.

Yeast Notes:
Final Volume into Fermenter = 2.75 Gallons
Yeast Required = 100 billion (per Mr. Malty)
Yeast Production Date: 10/14/13
Yeast Starter = 1.8L @ 1.040 on stir plate (Mr. Malty suggests 1L) = 7.5 oz. DME

Fermentation:
1. Chill to 44°F and keep at 48°F until activity slows (1.5 weeks or so).
2. Raise to 58°F for diacetyl rest 24-48 hours .
3. Cool 2°F / day until down to 34 °F.
4. Rack to corny keg.
5. Lager near freezing 4-6 weeks.

Sour Mashed Berliner Weisse with Brett Trois

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Nick Ladd

Reheating and recirculating the sour mash after 60 hours of sour-mashing.

Recirculating and reheating the mash after 60 hours of sour-mashing.

My first batch of Berliner Weisse left me confident that sour mashing is a viable option for creating brightly acidic sour beers in short order. I’ve had a number of wonderful sour mashed beers along with quite a few terrible ones. A lot of people proclaim that sour mashing is a bit of a crap shoot, but I believe with careful process control, you can utilize sour mashing with a high success rate. It seems that the key to success with sour mashing is creating an environment that favors the lactic acid production you’re looking for while discouraging the growth of other bacteria and yeast that can easily fowl your mash with pretty horrific off-flavors.

My primary concerns are creating an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment, maintaining temperatures above 105°F, and pre-acidifying the mash. An anaerobic environment is achieved by thoroughly flushing the fermenter with C02 gas and then sealing the lid. Temperatures are maintained by insulating the mash tun and periodic hot water additions. Pre-acidification is achieved through a healthy dose of acidulated malt at the end of the mash regiment. After a 60 hour sour mash, the liquid was very tart and clean. There was no pellicle, mold, or otherwise odd looking growths on the surface of the mash. At this point in the process, you’re looking for a bright clean acidity — more similar to yogurt (lactic) than vinegar (acetic). If your mash smells or tastes like rotten vegetables, baby diapers, vinegar, or other funky flavors, your mash likely went off. Boiling and subsequent fermentation may drive off some of these offensive aromas, but chances are pretty slim that they will be eliminated completely.

After sour-mashing I retrieved the soured wort and boiled it for 30 minutes to achieve a minor reduction in volume, kill any bacteria, and achieve a slight amount of bitterness. I cooled the wort and pitched Wyeast’s German Ale strain. I have heard antidotal evidence that low pH can adversely effect yeast fermentation. ~~I can offer my own contrary antidotal evidence — my low pH wort exhibited a very vigorous fermentation and attenuated well.~~

UPDATE 11/16/2013: After about 2 weeks in primary, I seem to be experiencing a pH related issue with this beer. Fermentation appeared extremely vigorous. It has however stopped at 1.010, which is most likely related to the beer’s low pH. At this point I am not comfortable bottling with a secondary Brett Trois strain. Instead, I have racked the beer to a secondary fermenter and pitched the Brett in an attempt to reach terminal gravity prior to packaging and bottle conditioning.

Wyeast describes the German Ale strain as a true top cropping yeast... I concur.

Wyeast describes the German Ale strain as a true top cropping yeast. Fermenting at 64°F created a large amount of yeast blowoff.

Recipe

Size: 3.25 gal
Efficiency: 68%
Attenuation: 80.0% (projected)
Boil Length: 30m

Original Gravity: 1.034 SG
Terminal Gravity: 1.007 SG (projected)
Color: 3.99 SRM
Alcohol: 3.59% ABV (projected)
Bitterness: 5.0 IBUs

Grist:
2 lb (43.2%) Bohemian Pilsner Malt (Weyermann)
2 lb (43.2%) White Wheat (Briess)
2 oz (2.7%) Victory® Malt (Briess)
8 oz (10.8%) Acidulated Malt (Weyermann) – 2oz during mash, 6oz to cap mash post sugar conversion

8 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker (4.3% AA) – 30m
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – 15m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10 m

WYeast 1007 German Ale™ – Primary Fermentation
White Labs WLP644 Brettanomyces Trois – ~~Added to individual bottles during bottle conditioning.~~ Ended up adding it in secondary before packaging.

Water Treatment:
Carbon filtered Brooklyn water (very soft) with 2g Gypsum and 4g Calcium Chloride added to mash.

Mash Regiment:
60m – 148 °F
10m – 154 °F
10m – 168 °F

Sour mash 60 hours:
1. Complete mash regiment above. Let mash cool to 128°F. Minimize stirring and aeration of wort.
2. Add 4 oz uncrushed grain & remainder of acidulated malt (6 oz).
3. Cover mash bed with aluminum foil, purge with CO2, and seal mashtun.
4. Insulate the mash tun and let rest for 60 hours.
5. Add boiling H2O to increase sour mash temp as required to keep above 105°F.
6. After 60 hours, increase mash tun temperature to 168°F and transfer wort to kettle.

Fermentation:
1. Chill to 64°F and keep at 64°F until activity slows (1 week+).
2. Raise temp to 68°F 2 days
3. Drop temperature to 32°F over the course of 4 days. Hold at 32°F for 2 days.

Packaging:
Prime with sugar as required to achieve 3 volumes of CO2. ~~Inoculate half the bottles with Brett Trois (WLP644) for future side-by-side comparisons.~~ Ended up adding the Brett to secondary in bulk prior to packaging.

Double Dose IPA Review – Otter Creek / Lawson’s

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Nick Ladd

Last spring, I serendipitously had the chance to try Lawson’s Finest Double Sunshine while on a beer pilgrimage up to Vermont. Sitting on the sunny deck of The Reservoir in downtown Waterbury, the stars aligned — by pure luck, I happened to be seated for lunch at the very time that Double Sunshine was being tapped. In this case, the perfect atmosphere, company, and beer aligned to build a wonderful experience greatly exceeding the sum of its parts. The beer was absolutely fantastic and ever since I’ve been eager to try another of Lawson’s hoppy offerings.

Luckily Lawson’s Finest has teamed up with Otter Creek Brewing to produce a collaborative IPA called Double Dose. Thanks to Otter Creek’s distribution capabilities, a good amount of this beer made its way down to NYC and I was able to get a 4-pack.

Beer Tasting

Judged as a BJCP Category 14B American IPA.

Aroma (8/12)
Big in-your-face hops hit you as soon as your face nears the glass. Tangerine, pithy grapefruit zest, a very light hint of pine resin, and a substantial amount of ripe mango dominate. The intensity of the hops is quite high, but in many ways feel a bit muddled. There is just a hint of malt aroma. Some hot alcohol is apparent.

Appearance (2/3)
Very muddy and hazy. The beer paints a golden hue, which turns somewhat brown due to all the suspended solids. Head is bright white and persistent with tight creamy bubbles.

Flavor (13/20)
Citrus fruit dominates the flavor with a touch of pine sap. There is some very light crackery malt and maybe just a touch of sweet caramel. The bitterness is fairly moderate at first, but transforms into a fairly coarse and abrasive bite on the finish. The finish is further disturbed by a fairly substantial amount of hot alcohol.

Mouthfeel (4/5)
The beer is medium to medium-full bodied with a very distinct creaminess that is very reminiscent of Heady Topper to me. The beer finishes too full to fit well stylistically into the IPA category.

Overall Impression (7/10)
This is a nice example of an IPA that pushes, and likely exceeds the bounds of what most people would consider a standard IPA. I would be much more inclined to call this a double or imperial IPA. I enjoyed the hop intensity, but couldn’t help but think that the recipe could benefit from some hop varietal editing in order to allow individual flavors to pop on their own. Additionally, I found the amount of very apparent alcohol a bit overwhelming. I enjoyed this beer, but not nearly as much as my last Lawson’s experience.

Total: 34/50 (Very Good)